“World Music” is a marginalizing, blanket term used to describe music that’s “not from the US or UK” or simply “not from here.” This definition is ironic given the name itself is the most inclusive. Shouldn’t “world music” be for everyone no matter who you are or where you’re from?

We set out to answer that with the album titled “World Music Radio’’ (WMR). It’s best described as a concept album that reexamines and redefines the term “world music” as it exists in the popular music space. Working hand in hand with Batiste and his label Verve, our team spent months turning Batiste’s musical vision into a unique strategic POV and visual world that’s the album’s throughline. This remarkable collaboration touched all aspects of the campaign from rollout to album launch and beyond, including strategic positioning, communications strategy, photography, graphic design, set design and content production. There are clear parallels between Jon’s struggle with “genre” and what many creatives in the advertising industry are feeling. Agency creatives are categorized by a specific skill or trade – copywriter, art director, designer, etc. The current model makes it challenging to work outside of one’s “job description,” but the truth is most creatives have other talents outside of their titles. There are art directors who are photographers, copywriters who have published books, play in touring bands, direct commercials and films. Jon Batiste is best known as a jazz musician and former Late Show personality, but this album is a statement breaking free from conventions as a reaction to being pigeonholed. It challenges stereotypes and the limits often put on creativity to dream up something entirely new and unexpected. Especially from someone who’s been labeled as simply a “jazz musician.”